Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 National Guard Ford Fusion, has won two of the last three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway and he was the fastest in both practice sessions on Saturday. Biffle, who qualified 10th for tomorrow’s 3M Performance 400, spoke about his expectations when the green flag falls.
GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 National Guard Ford Fusion –
YOU WORKED ON LONG RUNS THAT SECOND PRACTICE AND YOU’RE OBVIOUSLY PRETTY GOOD. "Yeah, I’m really, really happy with it. They just did a great job on the National Guard car. The car is really balanced well and it drives real nice. I’m really happy with it."
IS WINNING BOTH PRACTICE SESSIONS ANY INDICATION FOR TOMORROW? "The car is really fast. It looks like we’re one of the fastest cars. The 29 is fast and there are a couple others that are pretty fast, but we’ll just wait and see what happens. There are a bunch of ways to lose these races as there are to win them, so we’ll just have to wait and see."
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PLACE THAT YOU’VE FIGURED OUT? "I don’t know. I just really like this race track. It’s fun to drive on and it’s fun to race here. Our cars are very well-balanced at this race track as well."
WAS THERE ONE TURNING POINT IN YOUR SEASON? "It was really Richmond. Qualifying on the pole then finishing fourth at Richmond really gave the team a big boost. Then, we go to Darlington and win, and then we keep going. It’s really been like that ever since."
WAS IT MORE DIFFICULT NOT BEING ABLE TO PINPOINT WHAT WAS WRONG? "I think that was the most difficult because it wasn’t like we were doing anything wrong. It was just, stuff would happen. At Phoenix, we ran out of gas and there was nothing we could have done. We couldn’t have made more gas, we got the best mileage we could have, but that’s just the facts. We couldn’t make it. Other guys could. We needed to be better, and since we ran out of gas twice, we’ve worked on our stuff. We got three-tenths of a mile a gallon better most everywhere we go. Is it hard work? Yeah, it’s hard work."
WHEN IT COMES TO THE CHASE, IS IT HARDER TO CLIMB BACK IN, OR IS IT HARDER TO STAY IN? "I think it’s harder to get back in. When you’re in, you concentrate on running good every week. When you’re not, you’re real nervous about running good. We’ve run good everywhere, so I’ve got a pretty high confidence level. We just have to watch our Ps and Qs and do this stuff right and I think we’re going to be able to get in."
-Ford -
